Shoe-polishing machine



April 5 192;?.

J. L. THOMPSON SHOE POLISHING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 29. 1925 1on1 l INVENTOR fofuz L.T/wmjvsozz 1,623,218 .1. L. THOMPSON SHOE POLI SHI NG MACHINE April 5, 1927.

Filed July 29. 1925 s sheets-sheet 2 it 53 8J 53 56 gg INVENTOR fallu .Tfmn'zpsazz fram ATTORNEY A ril 5 1927.

p .1. THOMPSON SI'iOE POLISHING MACHINE Filed July 29. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 m Rp MT L Lm fw ATroRNEY Patented Apr. 5, 1927..

y UNITED STATES I JOHN L, THOHFSON, l' WATEBBUBY, CONNECTICUT. l

SHOE-POLIBHING MACHINE.

Application med July 29, 1825. Serial No. 46,803.

front, and one in the rear of a shoe, said brushes being continuously revolved by a single coin-actuated motor.

A further object is to provide a machine of the above nature in which the side brushes are given a reciprocating backward and forward movement, and the front and rear brushes are given a reciprocating up and down movement.

A further object is to provide a machine of the above nature comprising a pair of connected units, one for polishing` black shoesiand the other for polishing tan shoes.

A further object is to provide a machine of the above nature so arranged as to ermit the successive polishing of both s oes of a pair, uponthe insertion of a single com.

A further object is to provide a machine of the above nature having adjusting means to allow the polishing of either high or low shoes.

A further object is to provide a machine of theabove nature which will be relatively simple, in operation, easy to install and manipulate, and very eliicient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawings, one form in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

Fig. 1 represents a side sectional view of the shoe polishing machine. ,j

Fig. 2 is a top sectional view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the shoe polishing machine, showing the two compartments adapted to polish black and tan shoes respectively.

Fig. 4 is a front sectional view of the machine showing the mechanism for operating the brushes.

Fig.l 5 is a sectional view of one of the reservoirs for the liquid polish and lalso showing a roller adjacent thereto for transferring the polish fromsaid reservoir toone of the shoe brushes.

' Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the sliding carriage in which one of the side brushes is mounted. v Y

vReferring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote correspondlngf parts throughout the several views, the po ishing maclune is housed Vin a casing A pzrovided with a forwardly projecting base the latter having an opening C in its top through which a pair of foot treadles are adapted to project to receive the shoes to be polished. The casing A is provided with an intermediate portion D having an inclined top section E in which is a slot for a forwardly extending operating han- The casing A is rovided at its top with a reduced section I4 forming a bearing for a 'horizontal shaft 2, said shaft project-- ing in front of said section F and carrying a dial knob 2 at its forward end.

In order tosu port a motor H for drivingthe shoe po ishing brushes, a shelf G is provided on the interior of the rear section of the casing, said motor being sup- ,plied with current from a suitable source,

not shown.

, In order to unlock the machine to permit the motor H to be started, provision is made of a coin slot 3 at the right hand side of the casing A, into which slot the operator may deposit a coin of any predetermined denomination. The coin slot 3 is connected with avertical chute 4, the bottom of which extends into a coin receiving box 5.v

As will be clearly seen from Figs. 2 and 4, the casing A is divided into two compartments, the one atthe rig'it being used for polishing black shoes andthe one at the left for polishing tan shoes. Since the mechanisms in the two compartments are identical, a description of one of them will be sufficient.

As will be seen best in Fig. 1, a tipple lever 5*, which is pivoted at 5", is adapted to extend into said chute 4, so that thefalling coin will cause said tipple lever to swing down about its pivot, thereby movin .Ia catch 6 out from under a detent 7 project ing out from avertical rack 8. If a coin smaller than the required value is dropped into the coin slot, it will fall down the chute until it strikes a spring M which will kick said coin out of the chute.

' H for rotating all of the brus es simulta- The next operation will be to push down the handle 9 galsolocated at the vright hand side of the casing. The handle 9 is connected by a link 9 to, the rack 8, and consequently, thedownward movement of said handle'will cause the rack 8 to rota-te a ratchet 10 in a counter-clockwise direction until a roller^`11 on the end of an operating lever 11 rides out of a slot 12 onto the outside of a cam 12.

The ti ple lever 5l is connected to the operating ever 11l by a link 11". The cam 12a is provided wlth a pin -12b which 1s adapted to engage a rack 22, to \be hereinafter described. The rack 22 will thus be forced back against a U-shaped leaf spring 22, thereby disengaging the rack j 22 from the ratchet 10 for about one third of a revolution and permitting the cam 12 to turn freel When the roller 11 is forced down by the cam 12", the rear of theoperating lever 11a will rise and force a switch closin arm 13 upwardly. The arm 13 has a slotte end 13 fitting over a pin 13b on the end of the operating lever 11, and said arm 13 is constructed of any suitable insulating material. The top of the switch closing arm 13 is joined to a bell crank lever 13c for closing a switch 14 and Jthus starting u the motor neously. A spring 14a is connected to the lower arm of the bell crank lever 13c to cause said switch to open rapidly when the operating lever 11 resumes its original position. I

Secured to bot-h of the treadles 1, and located at the rear thereof, are a pair of small dependingy racks 15 and 15, which dare adapted to mesh with gears 16 and 16a 'respectively. The gear 16 is mounted on a shaft 17, and the gear .16 4is on a tube 17EL surroundin said shaft 17. The shaft 17 and the tu e 17 are provided'with collars down through the casin 18 and 18a having lugs 18 and 18c which are joined to wires 19 extending upward and connected by springs 19 to levers 20 pivoted at 20 at the rear of the casing. The levers 20 have curved ends 2()b which hook over pins 21 mounted on the lower `end of the rack 22, previously described, and are limited 'inmoving downwardly by a stop 20.

In order to permit theshoe treadle 1 to be lowered to the correct position according to the type of shoe being shined, the dial shaft 2 is provided at :its rear end with a vertical gear 23 meshing with a horizontal pinion` 24, said pinion .24 being mounted on the top of f a vertical shaft 25 ,extending ofthe shaft 25 is provi ed with a. pin 25 adapted to t within a helical groove 26a in a collar member 26, andsaidcollar member 26 is slidable in a bracket 26"'.

By means of this constructiomjwhen the A. The bottom dial' knob 2 is turned clockwise, the collar member 26 will be raised and will thus adjust the height of a stop 26 on the bottom of said collar 26, said stop serving to limit the downward movement of the treadle 1. The stop 26c is adapted to be engaged by an arm 27 loosely mounted on the shaft 17, the arm 27 being interchangeably actuated by either of a. pair of lugs 29 carried by said shaft'17 and said tube 17a respectively.

When one shoe of a pair has been polished, the operator will remove his first foot from the treadle. This will cause the rack 22 to be drawn upwardly under the influence of 4a spring 21, whereupon the cam 12"v will rotate another third of a revolution. It

will be Yunderstood that the pin 12b will prethe rack 22 which will move up under theinfiuence of the spring 21. The rack 22 will at this time. be engaging the ratchet 10 owing tothe fact that the pin 12b has moved out of engagement with said rack during the first one-third revolution of cam 12.

Consequently, the upward movement of the-- rack will cause thecam 12a to rotate ,another third of a revolution. This rotation will permlt the roller 11,to again fall into the cam slot 12 and the catch 6 will again slip under the detent 7, thus locking the apparatus from further operation until another coin is inserted.

At the same time,.the switch closing arm 13 will be dra-Wn down by the operating lever 11 to open the switch 14 and shut oil the motor H. The machine vwill then remain idle until another coin is dropped into the com slot 3, and the handle 9 is again pushed down.

When the treadle 1 of the left hand compartmentv 1s pressed down, the shaft 17 in that compartment will be caused to rotate a short distance, and the rotation of said shaft will p ull down upon a cord 29HL connected to aecollar 29b on said shaft. The cord 29a passes over a pulley 30 and is connected t0` lll) of the treadle 1 operates in the reverse man.

l member 31 will cause the belt-shifting member to pull the belt 34* back to its original central position on the idle pulley 34, thus instantly stopping -the rotation of' the brushes.

In order to transmit power from the motor H to the brush driving mechanism in either' -of the compartments, provision 1s made of a pulley 35 rigidly keyed to a shaft 38 which has a grooved pulley 37 mounted thereon.

A cord 38 passes over said pulley 37 and i thence around a pulley 39 mounted on a lshaft 40. The shaft 40 is provided with another pulley 41 which is connected by a cord 41 to Va. third pulley 42 supported by the side walls of the casing mounted on a shaft 42".

Heel brushA operating nwoham'sm.-In

passes around said pulley 43 and drives aA pulley 44 on the heel brush 45. As will be seen from the above construction, the heel brush 45 will be kept in continuous rotation so long as the treadle l is held pressed down by the foot of the user.

The heel brush 45 is adapted to be automatically and intermittently forced down out of the way of the side brushes when the latter are at the rear end of their travel, and for this purpose, said heel brush 45 is loosely mounted on a shaft'46, said shaft 46 being carried by a pair of rods 47 rigidly mounted on the shaft 42.

When the side brushes have reached the limit of their rearward movement, an `arm 49 on the shaft 42a will be engaged by a lug 5() on one of the side brush carriages which will be hereinafter described. The arm 49 will thus be forced down, carrying with it the heel brush 45.

ln order to return the heel brush 45 to its normal operating position when the side brush carriages have again moved forward, a spring 51 is provided, said spring being connected at its ends to an arm 52 secured to the shaft 42, and the forward section B of the casing respectively.

In order to supply liquid polish to the heel brush 45 each time the pedal is depressed, provision is made of a roller 53 rotatably mounted 0n a rod 54 journaled in a movable carriage 55, said carriage 55 being given a reciprocating motion relative to an automatic self-closing liquid polish reservoir 56, so as to cause said roller 53 to intermittently come into contact with the rear of the heel brush 45 and the reservoir 56. Whenever the operators` foot'is re.-

moved from the treadle 1, the cord 57 with` its connected carriage 55 will move to the rightas viewed in Fig. 1 under the influence of the spring 59. The roller 53 will'then be seated in the reservoir 56. As mostclearly shown in Fig. 5, the reservoir 56 .is provided with a concave recess to fit about theY .roller 53, said` recess being perforated to permit liquid polish to flow out and wet the surface of the roller whenever the roller is seated in said recess. At such times, a rod 56 is'engaged by the roller 53 and forced inwardly against the pressure of a spring 56e. This will cause a curved 'plate 56d to uncover the perforations in the recess 56". I

When the roller moves out of the recess, the spring A56" automatically causes the reservoir to close.'

The reciprocation of the carriage 55 is caused by a cord 57 which is connected to the bottom of the carriage and has its other end connected to a depending crank arm 58 rigidly secured to the shaft 17. The movable polish-roller holding carriage 55 is mounted to slide-in ways 59 extending rearwardly from the base B.

Side brush. operating mechamlsm.-In order to polish the sides of a shoe, a pair of side brushes 74 are provided, said brushes being supplied with liquid polish from a pair of rollers 60 which are rigidl secured to a pair of vertical shafts 61. T e rollers 60- are mounted on the same carriages 55 as are -the rollers 53 and are adapted to reccive a supply .of polish from a pair of a'uto matic self-closing reservoirs 608. The reservoirs 6()IL are similar in all respectsto the r reservoir 56, 4previously described, and are adapted to supply the rollers 60 with polish each time the pedal is raised.

Each of the side brushes 74 has a pulley 75 secured thereto and is mounted to rotate freel upon a shaft 76. The shaft 76 has a.

bushing 77 rigidly mounted thereon, and

said bushing is adapted to be held by a set screw 78 upon a, sliding rectangular carriage'79. The carriage 79 is adapted to slide within four parallel strips 77, said strips being secured, as by rivets 79, to guide bars 86 which are s idably mounted in ways 87 attached to the casing.

In order to supply power for continuously rotating the side brushes 74, the shaft 40 has secured thereto a mitre gear 62,` which meshes with a similar mitre gear 63 mounted on a shaft 64 at right angles tothe shaft 40. The shaft 64 is provided with a pair of pulleys 65 and 66, the pulley 65 being connected by a cord 65 to a pulley 67 keyed to a shaft 68, the shaft 68 having a pinion 69 meshing With a large gear 70.

The gear 70, as most clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, carries an upstanding stud 71 which is adapted to fit in a slot formed between a pairof parallel bars72 on the side brush carriage. As will'be evident from the above construction, the continuous rotation of the gear with its stud 71 willfcause the reciprocationoof' the side brush carria 74 as long asthe foot of the operator is held upon the treadle 1.

The side brushes -74 are adapted to be pressed inwardly againstthe shoe being polishedA by a spring connected to the busliings`77 on the two shafts 7 6.. In order to,

keep the side brushes in continuous rotation,

the pulleys 75 of said brushes are connected by a belt 66* to the driving pulleys 66 mounted on the shaft 64, said belt 66a also passing around the pulleys 80, 82, and 83. Suitable springs are provided on the pulleys 80, 82,

ing on a shaft 91', and said ulley 92 being rigidly connected to said ront brush 87.

vThe shaft 91 is driven by a belt 89 assing around a pulley on the shaft 91 an a pulley 88 on the shaft 38, previously described.

In order to raise the front brush 87 out of the way when the side brushes arev at the forward part of their travel, the front brush 87 is carried by a pair of rods 94,-which are pivoted upon the shaft 93, and are rigidly mounted on the shaft 91. A pair of angui' clined section E of the casing.

larly arranged arms 95 and 96 Iare also rigidly mounted onthe shaft 91, the arm 95 being adapted-to be engaged by a lug 7 9a on the side brush carriage. The arm 96 is curved and is adapted to'be lifted by an arm 97 whenever the user removes his foot from the treadle. This lifting action is accomplished by the action of a spring 97". A wire 97a is connected with the arm 58 on the rack shaft 17 and serves to pull the front brush 87 down into operating position when the user places his foot on the treadle. A spring 96a is provided on a shelf 59 and is adapted to cause the front brush to press .upon the front of the shoe at all times, said spring being connected to an extension of the lever 96.

The liiluid -polish for the lfront brush is supplied by a roller 59* mounted on the end of a lever 99a hinged at 59 to a shelf 59C. The lever 993L has a side arm 99 to which is connected a wire-98 secured at its other end to the t-readle 1.

.In order to permit the user of the machine to steady himself, a suitable hand rail 100 may be provided along the bottom of the in- While there has been disclosed, in this specification one form in which the invennot to b e limite to the specific disclosure but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from l its spirit..l In short, the invention includes all the modifications andl embodiments coming .within the scope ofthe following claims.

. Having thusv fully described the invention whatlis 'claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent is:

1. In a shoe polishing machine, a casing, means for brushingthe sides of a shoe, means for brushing the front of said shoe, means for brushing the heel of said shoe, means for reciprocating said side brushing means along the whole length of said shoe, and means for vintermittently raising said front brushing means out of operating posi-A tion when the side brushing means are at the front of said shoe. i

2. In a shoe polishing machine, a casing, means for brushing the sides of a shoe,

vmeans forbrushing the frontof said shoe,

means for brushing the heel of said shoe, means forreciprocating said side brushing means Aalong the whole length of said shoe, and means for intermittently lowering said heel brushing means out of operating posisov tion when the side brushing means are at the y rear'of said shoe.

3. 'In a shoe polishing machine, a casing, means for brushing the sides of a shoe, means for brushing the front of said shoe, means for brushing the heel. of said shoe, means'for reciprocating said side brushing means along the whole length of said shoe, and means for alternately moving said front brushing means 'and said heel brushing means out of operating position when the side brushing means are at ,the front and rear of said shoe respectively. e

4. Ina shoe polishing machine, a casing, a treadle for supporting a shoe to be polished, a pair of side brushes, a reciprocating frame for sliding said lbrushes back and forth to operate on'the Wholelength of said shoe, pivotally mounted brushes for shining the front and rear of the shoe respectively, means for continuously rotating all of said brushes, and vmeans for temporarily moving said front and rear brushes out of their operating positions.

5. In a shoe polishing machine, a casing, a shoe supporting treadle, means for brushing the sides of a shoe, means for brushing the front of said shoe, means for brushing `the heel of said shoe, means for reciprocat- 'raised and lowered varying distances to correspond Ato the size of said shoe.

6. In a shoe polishing machine, a casing,

a treadle for supporting a shoe to be polished, a pair of side brushes, a reciprocating frame for sliding said brushes back and forth to operate on the Whole length of said shoe, pivotally mounted brushes for shining the front and rear of the shoe respectively, means for continuously rotating all of said brushes, means for temporarily moving said front and rear brushes out of their operating positions, and a motor for simultane ously rotating all of said brushes.

7. In a shoe polishing machine, a casing, a treadle for supporting a shoe to be pob ished, a pair of side brushes, a reciprocating frame for sliding said brushes back and forth to operate on the whole length o f sau-1 shoe, pivotally mounted brushes for shining the front and rear of the shoe respectively, means for temporarily moving said front and rear brushes out of their operating positions, and a motor for simultaneously rotating all of said brushes,v and means for permitting said motor to operate when the user removes his first foot from the treadle and replaces it withhis second foot, and for shutting off said motor when the user removes his second foot from the.y

treadle.

8. In a sh'oe polishing machine, a casing, a treadle for supporting a shoe to be polished, a pair of side brushes, a reciprocating frame for sliding said brushes back and forth to operate on the Whole length of said slice, pivotally mounted brushes for shining the front and rear of the. shoe respectively, and means' for. temporarily moving said front and rear brushes out of their operating positions, a motor' for simultaneously rotating all of said brushes, and a coin-released handle for closing the electrical circuit through said motor.

9. In a shoe polishing` machine, a casing, a treadle for supporting a shoe to be polished, a pair of side brushes, a reciprocatmg frame for sliding said brushes back and forth to operate on the whole length of said shoe, brushes for shining the front and rear of the shoe respectively, means for continuously rotating all of said brushes, and means for temporarily moving said front and rear 'brushes out of their operating positions.

10. In a shoe polishing machine, a casing, a treadle for supporting a shoe to be polished, a pair of side brushes, a reciprocating frame for sliding said brushes back and forth to operate on the whole length of said shoe, brushes for shining the front and rear of the shoe respectively, means for continuously rotating all of said brushes, and means actuated by said reciprocating frame for temporarily moving ,said front .and rear brushes out of their operating positions.

l1. In a shoe polishing machine, a easing, a treadle for supporting a shoe `to be polished, a pair of side brushes, a reciprocating frame for sliding said brushes back and forth to operate on the whole length of said shoe, brushes for shining the front and rear of the shoe respectively, means for continuously rotating all of said brushes, means for temporarily moving said front and rear brushes out of their operating positions, and means for automatically applying polish to said brushes.

In testimony whereof, I have affixed my signature to this specification.

JOHNy L. rHoMrsoN. 

